Leaders told to cultivate peace among Indonesians

Tiarma Siboro and Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Religious leaders and politicians urged influential figures to restrain themselves from saying things that might sow hatred among the different religious communities in the country, in an endeavor to promote peace in society.

Solahuddin "Gus Solah" Wahid, deputy chairman of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), told all the people of the country to promote dialog to maintain "social relationships among religious communities."

According to Gus Solah, who is also deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the younger brother of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, Islam has never taught its followers to kill or to hate followers of other religions due to their beliefs.

The enjoined the people to back the government to combat what he called the nation's common enemies, namely poverty, injustice and ignorance, instead of creating enmity among the different religions.

"Religion should not make us enemies of one another. We should fight against injustice, ignorance and poverty to improve people's social welfare," he said.

Separately, Rusjdi Hamka, cochairman of the United Development Party (PPP), said that it was high time for people from different religions to promote peaceful behavior among themselves.

"We have no alternative other than to promote religious tolerance and peace. Now, each party should implement their religious teachings in their daily activities because all religions aim at bringing peace to the earth," he told The Jakarta Post.

For example, Rusjdi said, Muslims should implement the Koran's Al-Haj chapter verse 40 in their daily life. The verse requires them to protect the Jewish people, Christians, and others from different religions.

"It underlines that Muslims are forbidden to destroy places of worship like synagogues, churches and mosques because God's name is invoked in those places. It also mentions the mosque last to show that Islam teaches tolerance," he said.

Rusjdi believes that peace will be developed among people of different religions if preachers do not speak disparagingly of other religions in their sermons, arguing that "it will be a very sensitive issue if the sermons always promote hatred toward the followers of other religions.

The two figures were of the opinion that the emergence of sectarian conflicts in certain regions and of extreme groups in the society has a lot to do with an incomplete understanding by the people of their own religion and the feeling of inferiority among certain sects in religious communities.